“Perhaps there are no less than twenty thousand of them, forming ranks and advancing toward us. Our troops have been engaged in fierce battle for nearly two hours, and the soldiers are exhausted. Moreover, it’s getting late. How about we retreat, set up camp, and rest?” Guan Yu suggested to Chen Xi.
Chen Xi and Guo Jia exchanged a glance, both wearing expressions of surprise. “It can’t be that bad. What banners are they flying?” Chen Xi asked.
“The central command banner bears the character 'Wen,' and there are secondary banners with the nas Shen, Jiang, Wang, and Xia. They’re marching in formation, all well-coordinated,” Zhao Yun replied, feeling a bit helpless. “We should prepare ourselves. If we engage in another battle, it won’t be easy.”
“We’ve been deceived…” Guo Jia sighed. “To think they’re marching in formation—Tian Feng is indeed a cunning strategist to have fooled two of our generals like this.”
“Guo Jia, are you saying that the earlier troops were actually routed soldiers in disguise?” Zhao Yun, quick-witted as ever, imdiately grasped Guo Jia’s implication.
“Yes, they were routed troops, but their quality wasn’t bad. Even in retreat, they didn’t completely collapse. After withdrawing, they reford ranks. I suspect they intended to masquerade as reinforcents, planning to attack us from both sides while Zhang He engaged our forces,” Guo Jia explained confidently.
“If such a well-ordered enemy force had appeared while we were already in a chaotic battle with Zhang He, it would have been a significant blow to our morale. And in that situation, even if we realized they were just disguised reinforcents, it wouldn’t have mattered,” Chen Xi added.
If the main army had been entangled with Zhang He, and then Tian Feng ordered Yuan Tan to quickly reorganize his troops to look like fresh reinforcents arriving after Zhang He, it could have turned a defeat into a victory.
In truth, the disguised reinforcents wouldn’t be any different in terms of combat ability, but they would exert a psychological pressure on Liu Bei’s troops. If the troops that had already been defeated returned, Liu Bei’s soldiers might think, "If we beat them once, we can do it again." But if they believed these were fresh reinforcents, the psychological impact would be entirely different.
The appearance of new troops would an that they had been fighting against three separate forces in succession. After defeating the first, they would be exhausted, and while battling the second, they would suddenly face a third. This would undoubtedly cause a significant drop in morale. Once the soldiers lost their belief in victory, even if Chen Xi and Guo Jia knew the reinforcents were fakes, they wouldn’t be able to turn the tide.
Guan Yu opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, leaving his doubts unspoken.
“General Guan, you’re probably thinking, ‘What if they’re real reinforcents?’ You want us to be prepared, right? Well, it’s certainly possible. Let’s send out scouts to confirm,” Chen Xi said, looking at Guan Yu. Guan Yu nodded slightly, confirming that was indeed his concern.
Guo Jia shrugged. He and Chen Xi were confident that the reinforcents were fake, primarily due to the ti discrepancy. Zhang He led a cavalry force, and they had defeated him within fifteen minutes. Since ti was of the essence, Zhang He would have charged forward at maximum speed.
Zhang He commanded so of the most elite cavalry in the north. If infantry could arrive on the battlefield just fifteen minutes after a two-hour-long cavalry charge, then cavalry would be practically worthless, especially considering they used the two-horse system…
Furthermore, both Zhao Yun and Guan Yu ntioned that the enemy was marching in formation. Marching in formation ant a significant reduction in speed. If they could still catch up with cavalry despite this, then that cavalry would be the slowest in the world…
Soon, scouts returned with a report: Yuan Shao’s troops had begun to retreat north, maintaining a well-organized formation, advancing neither too fast nor too slow.
“We’ve been tricked,” Guan Yu said coldly. “Let’s go after them!”
“It’s better not to. Given their orderly retreat, they’re probably prepared for such a move,” Zhao Yun, always quick to catch on, advised.
“That’s right. Let’s butcher those dead oxen and treat the troops to a feast tonight. Yuan Shao’s camp still holds plenty of supplies. We’ve already tested them for poison, so let the soldiers eat to their heart’s content. Zilong, you’ll have to work a little harder tonight. You and Zhongkang will take charge of the night patrol. We’ll likely spend the night in this camp,” Chen Xi instructed, nodding to Zhao Yun. He was impressed with the quality of Yuan Shao’s forces.
“As you command,” Zhao Yun replied, clasping his hands in a salute.
That evening, after reorganizing the army, and with all the officers and generals gathered, Chen Xi ordered food and wine to be served. As they ate and drank, he began the discussion.
“Let’s talk about your impressions of Yuan Shao’s troops,” Chen Xi asked, glancing around at the assembled officers.
“They’re truly formidable opponents. Unlike Cao ngde’s hastily trained veterans, Yuan Shao’s forces, from officers to soldiers, are well-honed. Even in retreat, they didn’t collapse entirely. Under the command of their officers, they withdrew in an organized manner. Their combat quality is high, and there was little confusion,” Guan Yu said, putting down his wine cup and speaking first.
“Indeed, Yuan Shao’s forces are brave from top to bottom,” Zhao Yun added. “They have their own convictions. Yuan Benchu’s Jizhou is not the sa as the Jizhou I once knew.”
Chen Xi nodded in agreent. He had noticed as much when Yan Liang had returned to face death—more than half of his soldiers were willing to follow him. That spoke volus.
To be honest, Chen Xi believed that if it weren’t for his presence, this version of Yuan Shao, who seed almost invincible, would undoubtedly unify the realm. Through his tactics of dividing and winning over the noble families of Jizhou, Yuan Shao had completely consolidated his control over the region. More importantly, through land reforms, Yuan Shao had gradually gained the support of the common people in Jizhou.
“Their officers are also very capable and know when to advance and retreat,” Sima Ju pointed to the wound on his chest. “It feels like so of them fought like bandits. Their tactics were similar.”
“Dezu once advised Yuan Benchu to ease the managent of Jizhou’s population. As long as they didn’t commit serious cris, they could be pardoned for military service,” Chen Xi sighed, acknowledging Ju Shou’s strategy.
“Local hooligans and thugs were rounded up for labor reform. Roving swordsn were recruited into the ranks as lower-level officers based on their skills. Bandits and marauders who were willing to turn over a new leaf were allowed to join the army as lower-level officers, with their past cris forgiven. Afterward, they could be promoted based on military rit,” Chen Xi explained with a smile. Ever since the concept of labor reform had erged, advisors from all over had urged their lords to spare lives and focus on reform.
“No wonder that guy wielding a blade fought like a horse thief!” Zhou Cang said angrily. He had been wounded in the leg by a man nad Peng An, who had ambushed him.
As soon as Zhou Cang spoke, the room erupted in complaints. Yuan Shao’s army had many forr bandits and horse thieves, just as Liu Bei’s army had many forr Yellow Turbans. It was simply a local characteristic…
“All right, all right, calm down. Enjoy your food and drink. Tomorrow, we’ll move to Linyi. We’ll be stationed there for a long ti,” Chen Xi said, raising his hands to quiet the room. He didn’t want the conversation to devolve into more grumbling. He’d rather analyze Yuan Shao’s army on his own later.
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